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New-Gen Zamperla Coasters

CrashCoaster

CrashCoaster

CF Legend
So having knocked off the Euro-Fighter with the Thunderbolt, Zamperla have now knocked off the Infinity with the "Lightning":-

www.instagram.com

Zamperla Coasters on Instagram: "The next generation of Zamperla coaster trains is here- the Lightning. It’s a modular system with an aluminum chassis and comfortable seats that all sit atop better track. Same name, new game. Watch the entire video a

303 likes, 9 comments - zamperlacoasters on June 17, 2021: "The next generation of Zamperla coaster trains is here- the Lightning. It’s a modular system with an aluminum chassis and comfortable seats that all sit atop better track. Same name, new game. Watch the entire video at the link in our...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com


I think they may have first shown this off at IAAPA 2019 with a prototype train? Also I believe they also have some other coasters in the works, which is why I thought it would be worth making a topic on this.
 
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These trains were revealed a few years ago at IAAPA, so maybe this means they're actually starting to promote (or sell!) them now.

fZOXW11.jpg
 
Kind of reminds me of the 4-across El Loco trains found on Green Lantern in Australia. All Zamperla have done is put fake S&S El Loco trains on fake Gerstlauer track. 🤣

That being said I am curious to see how it would ride cause the trains don't actually look that bad/uncomfortable. And the track work/profiling on their newer Thunderbolts don't look too bad either, so I'm cautiously optimistic. Not expecting a Vekoma-level change though.
 
I just hope they recognize how much of a joke their reputation as a coaster manufacturer is, and are taking steps to remedy that. You never hear about coasters from other big manufacturers being as janky as Zamperla's when they are brand new anymore. 15 years ago, a Vekoma could bang you up a bit on opening day, but nowadays that's not a worry. Gerstlauer has a bit of a reputation for roughness, but they've also built coasters with good reputation. Zamperla's coasters are known to be passable at best. This could be their chance to remedy that image, or they could continue along the vein of the Volares.
 
My main problem with Zamperla is they don't offer a good quality coaster product for the price. Thunderbolt at Luna Park had a stated cost of $10 million and the ride experience was jarring to say the least. I don't see how any serious park would pay that sort of money for an attraction when a manufacturer like Gerstlauer can offer a Eurofighter for half the price and with much better quality of manufacturing.

The majority of their business is still in flat and kiddie ride sales, and if I'm gonna be honest unless there's a drastic change in quality for the coasters it's going to stay that way.
 
The fact they are 4 seats per row immediately make them an improvement on the stupid 3-across trains on the Thunderbolt! Bit odd that the video is all about the trains and not the coasters they might run on though... 🤷‍♂️
 
bmac said:
My main problem with Zamperla is they don't offer a good quality coaster product for the price. Thunderbolt at Luna Park had a stated cost of $10 million and the ride experience was jarring to say the least. I don't see how any serious park would pay that sort of money for an attraction when a manufacturer like Gerstlauer can offer a Eurofighter for half the price and with much better quality of manufacturing.

The majority of their business is still in flat and kiddie ride sales, and if I'm gonna be honest unless there's a drastic change in quality for the coasters it's going to stay that way.
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They gotta be lying with the 10 million price tag. Or they are accounting with land acquisitions, something like plumbing for the whole park or just all development for the Thunderbolt. There is no way that ride itself was 10 million.
 
ChristianPalsson said:
They gotta be lying with the 10 million price tag. Or they are accounting with land acquisitions, something like plumbing for the whole park or just all development for the Thunderbolt. There is no way that ride itself was 10 million.
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If it’s $10 million for Thunderbolt at Luna Park specifically and not the price for an off the shelf clone, then R&D costs could be included with it being the first of its kind.
 
After speaking a bit with Zamperla recently, you can tell from their sales and design department they're trying to trim costs while improving quality. A lot of stuff they have announced are probably the best designed rides they've ever had in their inventory.
 
Just found this on their website, indirectly calling out Jinma/GH for their IP theft:-

www.zamperla.com

Safety issue

Zamperla continuously invests significant time and money to bring new, exciting and safe rides to the market. Like others who invest in intellectual property, Zamperla is compelled to protect those investments through global patent and trademark filings. Please be aware that Zamperla’s...
www.zamperla.com www.zamperla.com

On a more interesting note, the Lightning coaster is actually REPLACING the Thunderbolt model, and has been discontinued on Zamperla's website:-

www.zamperla.com

Lightning

Marketable Moment: The vertical lift and vertical drop are the simply most exhilarating way to start a roller coaster experience. This iconic structure will be the feature piece of your print and digital marketing campaign.
www.zamperla.com www.zamperla.com

They are also planning on using these new trains on the already existing layout designs too.
 
Snoo said:
After speaking a bit with Zamperla recently, you can tell from their sales and design department they're trying to trim costs while improving quality. A lot of stuff they have announced are probably the best designed rides they've ever had in their inventory.
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Would it be fair to say that Zamperla are trying to bring about a similar renaissance to what Vekoma have had recently?

I have to say that I think they have been improving lately; their Junior Coaster model (Octonauts at Alton Towers) is very high quality in terms of smoothness and comfort, I have to say (well, Octonauts seemed perfectly smooth and comfortable when I rode it in 2019, anyway), and the newer Thunderbolts are supposedly very highly rated!

Zamperla may well be one to watch over the next few years!
 
ChristianPalsson said:
They gotta be lying with the 10 million price tag. Or they are accounting with land acquisitions, something like plumbing for the whole park or just all development for the Thunderbolt. There is no way that ride itself was 10 million.
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There was nothing with land acquisitions, they already owned that strip of land and it was a vacant lot for almost 15 years prior. Outside of running the required electrical lines and footers there was no need to dig up much dirt for the attraction. Zamperla stated the price tag themselves. I get it some of y'all wanna defend a manufacturer, but call a spade a spade.

I'm hoping Snoo is right in that they're actually trying to improve the quality of their attractions, because I can tell you Thunderbolt and Rolling Thunder turned off a lot of prospective customers to their coaster product. Maybe if they tear it down and rebuild it like Vekoma had done with Great Nor'Easter and Boomerang?
 
bigmac1789 said:
Ever since the Knock Off Disko Accident that happened a couple of years ago, they had it on their website because people thought it was an actual Zamperla product.
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I remember when that happened. T'was the knockoff Disko in India, not sure from whom, the very first time that it tested with riders (park employees), it collapsed. Five years ago already. It made mainstream headlines around the globe, was the biggest theme park incident of the year until Dreamworld's Thunder River Rapids happened.

Here's the video for reference (watch at your own risk);
 
Two new coaster models from Zamperla have just been announced, they look to be pretty similar to that new Intamin model from a while back. They are pretty tall with the larger one being over 200ft, depending on there cost they could be great for smaller parks.


50Meter model
Edit: Video was taken down and re-uploaded, looks they they cut out the bit @Hixee noticed below😅 :
70Meter model:
 
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Cause we don't have enough of this style of coaster already, some of which never been built...

Have to admit though I like the look of the hyper model, the structure looks fabulous. Genuinely curious to see how it would ride with the new trains. Has FL written all over it.
Also, just saying Zamperla Hyper feels wrong and weird to me, I don't know about anyone else.
 
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Looks fun; kind of like Zamperla’s take on the SRII! However, Zamperla’s model has a much higher capacity than an SRII, at 970pph, so it might be beneficial for bigger parks as well as smaller ones!
 
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